Ed001's Posts and Other Poster's Replies To Ed001's Posts

08 Jun 2017 06:28:27
Having spoken to the person who has been keeping me informed on this, to get clarity, I think it is time I gave the full explanation of what I am now being told. I am going to refer to the person as he/ him, just because it is easier rather than because it is a male.

So I have pestered him, because I wanted some clarification of the full story and to know if I am being deliberately fed misinformation to keep the club out of trouble. He claims that he is telling me exactly what he has been told, that there is no attempt to mislead me on his behalf, either knowingly or unknowingly. So this is basically the story as he gives it:

After matches Klopp will often chat with opposition players, just a friendly chat, nothing untoward, many managers will do it.

However, remarks were made to VVD along the lines of 'I would love to have you in my team' or similar when we have faced Southampton. Which VVD has obviously taken to heart, though we have no way of knowing if Klopp was making the first moves towards a signing or just making a throwaway remark regarding the player. So that could be seen as a problem in the light of following events, though would normally not even be noticed.

Anyway, last summer things were a bit unsettled there with Jose Fonte fighting to leave and it caused a few issues with a number of the players there, who felt Fonte was unfairly treated after his years of service to the club. There are a number of players there who did not like the treatment Fonte received and felt he should have been allowed to make his dream move, rather than held to his contract and then ended up in limbo before joining West Ham United just to get away from Saints. VVD has at this point made the decision he wants to go and asked his agent to put out feelers looking for interested parties.

We showed interest at this point, I don't have dates, I have never had any kind of dates to give, which is why I have never mentioned any, but I would assume this is just after the January window, as this was when he was disgruntled. However, instead of going direct to the club and seeking permission to speak to them and him over a summer move, we spoke directly to the agent.

Now our excuse, which is why I am told the club immediately backed out and apologised, is that we were told the agent and player came to us with Saints' blessing. I will leave you to make up your own mind over the truth of that claim, as I really do not know. I have no way to verify that information one way or the other.

To cut a long story short, the player, agent and club sorted out a deal, then and only then do LFC go to Saints to negotiate a price. That is when all hell broke loose and Soton investigated, made a complaint etc.

That is how he explained it to me, but I have no way to verify any of it, which is why I am giving you a full version as he tells it. In the past he has been reliable, though he has often asked me not to pass on things, the info he has given had checked out. This time I am not sure though, this feels too neat and like someone is trying to shift the blame. Either way the club is at fault for not ensuring they had permission to speak to the player.

Ed001

1.) 08 Jun 2017 06:43:11
Make you right ed001 with it sounding to contrived but it does not mean what he has said is not the truth. Like you say it's not difficult to follow the correct way of approaching a transfer a club either says yes or no what is the problem. Baffling really still men in suits are never the smartest.
Up the pool.

{Ed001's Note - I just don't understand why the club still has this issue. We do not need to act underhand, the club is, in terms of brand power, according to those that measure these things, ahead of all but Man Utd in English football. We should not need to be underhand to attract quality players. They should want to play for us because of who we are. So just concentrate on getting the right deal with their current club, then worry about convincing the player.}

2.) 08 Jun 2017 06:48:37
Qyestion for the Eds, not just about this event. What is the situation regarding speaking to agents. As i understand it agents put feelers out to other clubs and that is ok. In those circumstances i assume it is ok for a club to speak to the agent. If that has happened can the club contact the agent again for further discussions? Is it a case of the player basically can't be in the room with them? Or more complicated, e. g. you can't talk beyond a certain point even with the agent? Thanks.

{Ed025's Note - if a club wish to talk to a player who is under contract at a club then they must inform the parent club for permission DL, anything less is seen as "tapping up" even if its done through the agent mate..

3.) 08 Jun 2017 06:55:11
Shame Ed, at the very least I hope the club learn a lesson, I think we're sailing very close to the wind with our transfer activity.

5.) 08 Jun 2017 07:05:44
Its the premier league response that intreagues me. Would it not be the case that if they thought we were genuinely guilty of wrong doing on purpose then just an apology from us would be irrelevant?

{Ed001's Note - depends on what Saints think. If they are satisfied with the apology and us backing away, then yes. Though a lot comes down to VVD himself as well.}

8.) 08 Jun 2017 07:31:15
If Saints had any decency, they'd accept the apology and move on. Liverpool acted underhandedly but, judging from ed001's post, not in a deliberate way. It's not like the club had been scheming to prevent a bidding war that Southampton were entitled to.

{Ed001's Note - it feels like arrogance to me, believing they can do what they want with no consequence.}

10.) 08 Jun 2017 07:35:05
Hey ED001. Is the extent to which the VVD deal played out in the media seen as a massive issue by the club? I know this doesn't excuse the club's behaviour but the extent to which transfer info is leaked is quite extraordinary. Similarly a lot has been written bout the Salah deal. Can the club not conduct business in a private professional manner, or is it just the case that this not easily done in modern football? Thanks Ed.

{Ed001's Note - it is always a concern, the club put a lot of effort into keeping things quiet in the past, hence the Jen Chang thing. Now it has gone back to the old flood of info coming out. It is not easy to keep things quiet, but it certainly should not be coming out in the amounts LFC are producing it.}

11.) 08 Jun 2017 07:35:11
eds i know this is an outrageous idea/ thought, but truth be known the window don't open until july between now and then the saints accept the apology after believing because of the blame game as you said, that the tapping up was accidentally stupid, could liverpool get the deal sorted and pay more as in a way to save face or is it just a stupid thought.

{Ed001's Note - welcome and RITH is wrong. The whole point of speaking to a player is to cut out the whole auction aspect of transfers by ensuring you get the best price with the player only wanting to join you.

As for Saints, they have done nothing wrong and RITH is just showing how bitter he is by constantly deflecting and blaming the victim.}

14.) 08 Jun 2017 08:03:54
Ed 1 - you make some great points here. We were discussing it in the pub last night and I think the consensus of opinion was that tapping up players has always gone on and always will to some degree. It is maybe a bit easier to hide behind agents and third parties these days than it was years ago but I think even an indirect approach - I. e. To an agent is tapping up. I know clubs often give players agents approval or even instructions to find a new club for a player maybe even with guidelines as to what a sell price may be. More often than not all of the above happens in secret.

You make a very good point that too much information seems to be leaked out of LFC and whilst it seems clear that the club has acted beyond what can be excusable (I. e. A sounding out of an agent etc. ) and especially with meeting the player directly, the leaks to the press in my view is what has really caused the most problems.

I hope there is a full investigation internally and these internal problems are fixed now or we could have a long summer of problems in the transfer market.

{Ed001's Note - not just a long summer, it will be the same every transfer window until we fix the internal problems.}

15.) 08 Jun 2017 08:10:12
Is there any suggestion that there will be any internal disciplinary actions taken by the club towards any LFC staff involved in the transfer Ed001? Do you think the VVD events will see Liverpool changing their approach to transfers and lack of professionalism? If nothing changes or there isn't an acceptance that change is needed then that would really stink of arrogance.

{Ed001's Note - the first thing that will happen is likely to be an internal investigation to examine what went on, what the club did wrong and what the club did right. That analysis will have to lead to changes or this summer will be nothing compared to how bad things will get for the club in the future.}

16.) 08 Jun 2017 08:15:14
It's all just so distasteful. Look at what Lukaku is doing to them across the park. Young men who get paid millions to play a sport they love and show this kind of disrespect to their employers. Regardless of whether Liverpool's conduct was really dodgy or just downright dumb, I really do not like to see these spoiled players showing such an extreme lack of loyalty to the shirt and fans they represent. If I wanted to leave my job and go to a bigger company, I would have the decency to go to my boss and tell him to his face. Of course, I don't have a greedy agent trying to drum up a sale to line his own fat palm with silver.

17.) 08 Jun 2017 08:15:37
What does this mean for the player himself ed001? Is he also facing the prospect of a ban? Maybe not by his parent club who might not be able to afford it, but by the governing body.?

{Ed001's Note - it is unlikely to lead to any kind of ban for the player. His issue is that the club themselves could freeze him out and leave him in limbo and his chance to get a big move could go.}

18.) 08 Jun 2017 08:32:25
We appreciate you sharing your info ed, as you have already hinted i think this is standard practice for the americans and i can't see any follow up action apart from a public telling off and a private don't get caught next time.

With regards to vvd we were always going to get our pants pulled down over this deal so maybe its the best outcome overall aside from the massive embarassment.

Moving forward through this window at any rate we must do it correct though because i shudder to think what punishment the club will get if its caught doing the same thing twice in the same window.

Do you think this will have any bearing on players we are targeting not wanting to come considering we have left vvd high and dry?

25.) 08 Jun 2017 11:52:37
Thanks for the info Ed's, but I have to ask, why is it so hard to do it properly, whether the agent instigated it or not? Even if the agent said that the player is doing it with his club's blessing, how hard is it to confirm that with the club? Something is really wrong somewhere within the club and it's not rocket science how it can be fixed!

26.) 08 Jun 2017 12:10:38
Ed is part of the problem that the powers of be just aren't from football background? Is it just simple naivity from people that don't know? Most if not all of our top brass are from everywhere BUT football. Is it just me being naive?

28.) 09 Jun 2017 13:45:14
Ed001, Good of you to give us the detail, but I don't think you have to explain things. Everyone said this was going to happen, but then it turned out we built the house on sand, so things fell apart.

You guys run a really interesting site, and try to give us interesting insights. Sometimes things will go pear shaped. doesn't change things, you are giving us your honest (sometimes very honest) view on things. If it was called Liverpool-transfer-facts. co. uk, then that would be different, but I for one enjoy the site, and appreciate you guys giving us the insights that you do (although sometimes I cringe from the tongue lashings delivered :-) ) . If you will forgive me, part of the fun of this site is just like buying the euro millions ticket. the 2 days dreaming about what it would be like if Messi signed brings a smile and some joy, even if the reality is, it is never going to happen. BTW . any chance of Messi :-)

On a different note, I find it really hard to fathom how we can get ourselves into these situations. I have nothing to do with football, but I know you need permission from the other club before you speak to the player. I know from life, that if a middle man says "trust me this is all legit", then that is when you run for the hills. SO, this is either supreme arrogance (which I would hate for my football club, but I accept it is possible), or supreme naivete. I am not sure which is worse.

Thanks for all you guys do, I am looking forward to my near hourly visits to the site during the window!

08 Mar 2015 18:12:53
So what do you think will happen in the summer then Ed002?

Ed001

{Ed002's Note - Much of this will change by the summer and there are major dependencies on (a) players leaving (b) how much money the club can raise through sales (remembering that Liverpool will be probably be looking to sell players by January to offset FFP issues), and (c) Champions League qualification. However, there is known to be (or have recently been) some level of interest in the following players:

GK: Ochoa, Neto, Sportiello (unconfirmed at this time), Romero, Ryan, Ruddy. The club have also looked at many others.
RB: Danilo (certainly won't happen). I am not sure what will happen to Wisdom. I suspect a new deal for Flanagan but if Manquillo and Johnson both leave then the club will look for a new RB. If Rodgers remains as manager it is not out of the question that Ibe may be tried in a wing back role. Alternative is that MAnquillo stays and RB is no longer a priority.
CB: I suspect a new deal will be offered to Toure and the club will have to have a clear out of CBs in any case. I doubt a CB is a priority.
MF: Milner, Khedira, Pjanic (outrageously expensive), Vazquez
F/W: Ings, Vietto, Gameiro, Baez (a WP would be an issue initially), Kishna (I understand that old interest has been rekindled but it is hard to see how he would fit in), Lacazette (not going to happen). Two other players the club were interested in - Bakkali (I suspect Liverpool have stepped back from their interest like many other clubs) and Andre Ayew (a free agent who Liverpool enquired about last summer - no obvious interest right now but it may return).

If Liverpool do qualify for the Champions League and if further funds can be made available through sales, it would not be out of the question for Liverpool to look to one of the following as an option:

GK: Cech
MF: Carvalho, Turan
F/W: Benzema

And who would be my choice of players who will be available?

GK: Handanovic
RB: Germain
CB: Balanta - Caniggia wanted Liverpool to move for Balanta more than two years ago - and he has got better. Rogers ignored the advice. He shouldn't have done. If Liverpool need a CB
MF: Matuidi, Morgan Sanson
F/W: Mitrovic - I don't see a long term future for Lambert and Mitrovic would give Liverpool a very good option that they are missing right now. Rodgers will regret using the words "Origi" and "world-class" in the same sentence. }

3.) 09 Mar 2015 00:27:59
Realistically we're only looking to add one in each position right, Eds? So say we signed Ings, Vietto would then be out of the question?

I'd love Khedira but worry about his injury record so can't see FSG taking such a risk.
Would the signings of Romero, Milner, Ings and possibly a battle for Carvalho if we make top 4 seem like a realistic scenario come the summer Eds?

{Ed002's Note - I am a little surprised that there is no firm interest from Liverpool, AC Milan or Arsenal in Adriano at this time. It should be Darmain not Germain.}

7.) 09 Mar 2015 07:22:22
great post Ed002. i would like to know if we are really interested in morgan sanson of montpellier? i watched montpellier games few times and he looked a class midfielder and ran the show. i think he will be perfect for liverpool.

{Ed001's Note - not a lot to add to that, I do believe we have decided against Ryan, despite his agent's best efforts to get him a move, he simply is not good enough for the top leagues and so will probably move to a low end team in Spain or Italy.
Bakkali we were discussing on the editor's widget and I did mention to the other editors yesterday that the feeling is that he is 'difficult' and best avoided.
Turan will again be looking to join us, but I doubt we will have the finances required sadly.
Mostly it is going to be about moving players out to buy new ones, though the removal of Johnson and Gerrard does clear up any issues with the wage bill being too high. It is just that we have to avoid building up debt while the stadium is being rebuilt, so it is going to be a time to be careful with our spending. Thankfully the new TV deal will mean we can sell to buy, rather than having to sell to pay for the stadium.}

9.) 09 Mar 2015 10:12:41
Great response from Ed2 and comments from Ed.

11 Nov 2014 10:24:42
I just wanted to send in a quick note to thank all of you who have been helping to beta test our new free to play game, Flat Out Horse Racing.

Just to let you know that, as soon as Ed033 gets the time to do it, we will be setting up a monthly prize draw for those of you who play it.

You will be able to use the game money won playing it to 'buy' tickets to enter the draw each month to win prizes.

It is just a little thank you for helping us test it, so please, if you haven't yet tried it, feel free to go to http://www.footballrumoursbets.co.uk/games/flatouthorseracing.php and try the game and give us your feedback.

For now it is flash only, but Ed033 is working on converting it to HTML5, so that it will also work on iOS and Android devices.

Thank you all.

Ed001

1.) 12 Nov 2014 16:08:08
Looks like good fun!!

One glitch, if you have multiple bets per race, it only seems to count your first bet (as shown in bet history) but deducts the money from your kitty for additional bets.

{Ed001's Note - he only spent 2 and a bit seasons there. There is a bit of dispute over his motives, it was partially money-motivated, thought he could have earnt much more returning to Barca. He says he chose it to build football as a sport there and his actions while there do suggest that is closer to the truth. I will do the article on his life next so go into more detail on his time there.}

3.) 19 Mar 2018 11:57:24
Lovely piece ed on a true giant of the game. The quote you included said everything you could say about the great man. The game truly lost someone exceptional when he passed. Cheers for the time effort put on on this article.

{Ed001's Note - cheers mate. I did think that quote summed him up brilliantly.}

4.) 19 Mar 2018 12:00:33
Yeah it works fine now. What a player, what a man an absolute legend! He was in my opinion by far the most interesting man in football. Thanks for the player profile on him Ed.

{Ed001's Note - it is going to take ages. That is why I didn' t hold back the profile to put up at the same time.}

6.) 19 Mar 2018 12:14:17
When reading that article I was thinking it sounds a bit like Firmino ed is talking about here.
Glad your writing a second article about him ed, Cruyff is a legend twice over afterall.

1.) 19 Mar 2018 09:09:21
Great article ed001. On Depay what's your thoughts on him? I think there is a player in there, now I'm not saying let's sign him right now but do you think playing under a manager like klopp would take him to the next level?

5.) 19 Mar 2018 13:13:16
At the time we wanted to sign (Memphis) Depay and mu were favourites to sign Firmino. I can't remember wanted happened to change things but, boy, am I, and all other Liverpool fans, glad that things turned out as they did!

1.) 18 Mar 2018 22:45:21
forget F1 Ed's, moto gp is the racing sport,16 laps today 2secs covered the top 7/ 8 and the goat is arguably the top sportsman of our generation, edge of the seat stuff every race.

2.) 18 Mar 2018 23:02:43
I’m really looking forward to the f1 season I’ve watched it when possible for the last 3/ 4 seasons. I don’t really understand it as much as I’d like but I usually manage to watch qualifying and the race. I’d like more of these “technical type” articles for us laymen to try and understand a little more about the cars. I know the halo thing is the big new thing this year and that it’s basically a safety measure but other new rules I might’ve missed.

{Ed001's Note - I will have a look at adding some to the site then to explain things. The rules are pretty similar to last season apart from the halo, though they have put a stop to them using lubrication oil to provide increased power which Ferrari and Mercedes were using last season.}

{Ed001's Note - yes mate, me dad was a car nut as he grew up working in his dad's garage. In the days before football was on the TV, the Sundays were for F1 in our house. Though I personally prefer BTCC to watch, as it is usually better racing these days.}

4.) 19 Mar 2018 05:29:03
Nice one ed. Used to watch F1 religiously back in school; still remember that Hakkinen move on Schumacher at Spa, phew that was something. Why do you think viewership has gone down ed?

{Ed001's Note - because the racing was rubbish. No one was able to overtake, so it was a boring watch.}

5.) 19 Mar 2018 05:38:00
I got the impression that the technology went backwards after the Ferrari heydays though, as in it was concentrating more on efficiency etc rather than balls out power and racing. I get the point that they want the technologies to be transferable to road cars but it might have come at the expense of genuine racing.

What’s your take on the budget limitations ed? To a certain extend it is basically the wage cap equivalent isn’t it?

{Ed001's Note - yeah I am not convinced that is the way to go, it should be the pinnacle of technology in motor racing. A lot of things they have banned would have allowed for closer racing, which is the key. Airflow has become everything these days.}

6.) 19 Mar 2018 05:45:56
I agree ed. Perhaps in the next article you can comment on what changes might work to bring back them glory days in your view? 😜.

7.) 19 Mar 2018 07:51:45
Now your talking ED001
I love f1 and im talking from the mansell pique senna days
best ever for me was Schummi then senna and hamilton
nowadays have to admit I am a massive fan of hamilton and Verstappen two proper proper racers who will never accept second
just a question mate who is your greatest ever team line up
mine would have to be Mansell and Patrese coz when Mansell won Patrese would always likely back him up in second place
As you can tell I was a big Williams fan back in the day.

{Ed001's Note - I preferred Mansell-Piquet or Senna-Prost as they were racing each other as well as everyone else. Once they start the race it should not be a team game imo. I want to see everyone race for themselves.}

8.) 19 Mar 2018 08:01:35
That is true but if you can't beat your partner then best thing for the team is to take second imo.

{Ed001's Note - agreed, but Patrese aimed to finish second, rather than settled for it.}

9.) 19 Mar 2018 09:44:22
Great article ed001, can't wait for it to be back. can't see past merc/ hamilton for the titles want ferrari to be competitve though! i've been impressed with haas, think they will be pushing as best of the rest.

10.) 19 Mar 2018 10:41:57
I think redbull could get off to a quick start this year. Think Ferrari and Mercedes still over the course of the season will be comfortably 1 and 2 but wouldn't be surprised at all to see redbull on top after 3 weeks.

11.) 19 Mar 2018 10:47:18
I'm not into this subject but want to say my word Ed1, How you have so much knowledge regarding football alone is beyond me then in recent times I've seen you know boxing really well and now this. Bravo mate.

3.) 18 Mar 2018 16:22:48
Good write up Ed, just seems so strange about George W as when he plays for Holland he looks better and more effective I still believe he will come good and he a player who deserves to be respected as he is curbing his natural game for the good of the team imo
thank you once again for a good article.

{Ed001's Note - I don't know what it is for him, I just don't think he has that mental strength needed. Some players hide when the pressure is on and he seems to be one of those. The likes of Souness used to grow and strut around owning the pitch when the going got touch, Wijnaldum does not seem to have that attitude.}

4.) 18 Mar 2018 16:27:37
Cheers for your insight as always Ed.
I’ve a couple of observations on the performance last night, firstly I thought the atmosphere was great from pre-kick off, granted an early goal made it easier but I also think 3 hours in the pub pre-match certainly helped the party mood on a very cold day (we are definitely a later kick off team/ more vocal speccies)
First half we got complacent and I thought Henderson and Firminio were particularly culpable of lapses in possession, worse for Hendo as it was in our final third, a better side would punish such slack play. Bobby can be forgiven as his flicks and lay off passes are attempting to create goal scoring opportunities.
Second half was excellent and could have been 8/ 9 nil by the end. I really prefer Gomez to TAA as he has better powers of recovery and is physically stronger.
All in all a warming performance on a bitterly cold evening, massive 3pts with Palace and Everton to come, confidence boost to the front 3, midfield is a concern going into the home straight (no one really in form) and centre back to partner VVD is our biggest weakness, there’s a mistake in all of them and VVD showed against Man U that, whilst he and Karius have given some much needed confidence to the group, he still needs to take more responsibility in the biggest games v the better quality individual opponents.
Top 4 finish given a welcome boost going towards the international break, Palace next and another massive 3pts at stake.

{Ed001's Note - I have to agree about the evening thing, I think that's why the club is reknowned for European games, as they are evening kick offs. The atmosphere was always better in the evening games I went to compared to day time kick offs. Apart from one. But that was a special case as we beat Man Utd to give Leeds the title that day, so the atmosphere was magical.}

5.) 18 Mar 2018 16:35:15
It’s a shame because when he plays well (which has been less frequent this season) he looks a good player, strong, tactically aware but because you know what he can do you feel a bit let down.

29 Aug 2017 10:01:23
Apologies my mistake, Sakho is going to Palace, I meant to say WBA want him to replace Evans if a deal can't be done with Palace. I really am sorry, it was early and that was a silly mistake not to read back through and check. Thankfully Ed002 pointed it out to me.

30 Dec 2016 17:38:49
It is nothing to do with other players and everything to do with his attitude and prior service. It is felt he deserves the opportunity to play regularly if he wants to go. While he does not really want to leave Liverpool, he does want regular first team football.

Whichever way he decides is fine by me, I am in full agreement that he has earnt the right to do what is best for him.

07 Jan 2015 12:31:25
Ed002 has some more info on this, which he will hopefully add, and point out I made a mistake assuming a party flying from London might not mean a London club, doh!

Ed001

{Ed002's Note - As of an hour or so ago Inter's business for the other player has now been concluded and they are looking to sort out the Shaquiri transaction by tonight or tomorrow morning. Their real plus point is that the player wants to move to Italy with them. Against them is that they are unable to pay the full amount upfront.

Therefore if Liverpool want to do something about Shaqiri it must be very soon - and if they are going to pay up front they must have access to the cash. They will also need to persuade the player that he should move to Liverpool.}